Click on a subject to follow through the book
Map of the Area                                                      The route of the C&GWU to Swindon
Setting the Scene                                                    Roads, canals and travel up to 1840
Railway Proposals                                                       How the Railway came into being
Building the Line                                                    Struggles with landowners and capital
The Opening of the Original Line                                 Troubles with landslips and money
The Line Completed                                        Sell out and building the rest of the railway
The Completed Line Opened                                                 Cheltenham reached at last
The Line Surveyed Swindon to Gloucester            Stations and landscape to Gloucester
Gloucester to Cheltenham                                              The shared route to Cheltenham
Tetbury and Cirencester Branches                                       The two branches described
Rival Plans                                                                Other planned railways for the area
Midland and South Western Junction                                     The other route to Swindon
Painswick Railway                                                   Britain’s first trolleybus route-almost!
Railmotor                                                                                              The workers train
Accidents                                                                          One of the safest lines-almost!
Great Western Bus Services                             Around the Stroud and Cheltenham area
Cheltenham Spa Express                                                   The famous Cheltenham Flyer
Other Named Expresses                                               Devonian, Pines and Cornishman
Locomotives                                                                     Castles, Kings and other things
Changes in the Line                                                                  Beeching and what he left
Conclusion                                                                                                           Survival  
Brief History                                                                                                     Time chart
Signal Boxes                                                          When they were built and demolished
Bibliography                                                                                       Information sources
Gallery                                                                                      Pictures and memorabilia

A short history of the Swindon to Cheltenham Spa Railway

Written 1981 and revised
(©1981)

A short history of the conception, building, heyday and demise of a railway built between the Great Western at Swindon and the Spa town of Cheltenham. It was a railway first muted by the Great Western, but left to the wealthy merchants of the Cheltenham area to build. Although for most of its distance the railway ran through green fields, it was not without strong opposition from the local landowners and canal companies. Even the Midland railway attempted to build a competing line.
When eventually built, the line was profitable, not only because it enabled the wealthy to reach London quickly and safely, but because it catered for the local workers, enabling them to reach the mills in the Chalford valley.
It fought the gauge war and survived the Beeching axe, running today through some of the most picturesque scenery in the country.